Poverty Measurement in Ukraine: Criteria, Challenges, Perspectives

1. Poverty Measurement in Ukraine:Criteria, Challenges, PerspectivesState Statistics Service of Ukraine Household Survey Department Inna Ossipova, Director of Department Xenia Plisko, Deputy Director of Department

2. Definition of poverty and social exclusions adopted by the Council of Europe in 1984:“…poor are those persons, families and groups of persons whose resources (material, cultural and social) are so limited as to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of life in the state to which they belong…” Definition of poverty adopted in Ukraine in 2001:“Poverty is an impossibility due to a lack of funds to keep up to the living style inherent in a specific society in a specific period of time”

3. Approaches to defining poverty criteria monetary non-monetary relative absolute income-based consumption-based objective subjective Most researchers recognize that a combined use of several different approaches is the most effective way to measure such a complex and multifaceted phenomenon as poverty.

4. Approaches to defining a poverty line for international comparisons consumption-based – minimum dietary energy intake or quantity of microelements in daily food consumption monetary – minimum funds required for survival, per day structural – maximum percentage of household expenditures for food in the total household expenditures relative criteria deprivations

5. Sample household survey of living conditions as a source of poverty measurement Household living conditionssurvey launchedon 1 Jan 1999 Sample of 13,000households, Response rate – 83%, Annual complete rotation of households, Rotation of territories every 5 years. • Consistent with internationally accepted principles: • Sampling is probabilistic, multistage, territorial providing equal • chances to any household to be selected; • Rotation of respondents and territories; • Voluntary respondent’s agreement to participate; • Non-balancing income and expenditures; • Consumption review during a short period; • Valid data quality evaluation; • Extrapolation of survey results to the population. Support from World Bank USAID SIDA DFID TACIS Household living conditions survey meets major requirements of European household surveys: Household budget survey (HBS) – in full Survey of living conditions (SILC) –partially Health interview survey (HIS) – partially ICT usage survey – partially

6. Information potential of a survey - social-demographic characteristics of household members- expenditures and consumption- income and other resources, including those coming from subsidiary farming- housing conditions- availability of durable goods- evaluation of health conditions and access to medical goods and services- evaluation of well-being level and economic expectations- access to certain goods and services- access to information and communication technologiesThe information potential of the survey, the availability of microdata and the inclusion of additional modules with sociology oriented questions help to measure poverty using all above criteria.

7. Poverty levels estimated based on different criteria, 2001-2012

8. Poverty measurement in Ukraine Inaccordance with the National Social Poverty Reduction and Prevention Programme until 2015 the following criteria are used:- poverty line based on a relative threshold of 75% median equivalized total expenditures per capita;- extreme poverty line based on a relative threshold of 60% median equivalized total expenditures per capita;- absolute poverty line at the level of statutory subsistence minimum;- absolute poverty line for international comparisons determined by daily consumption value of USD 5 (PPP) per capita. Indicators measured quarterly:Poverty level Poverty depth Aggregate income deficit of the poor Average income deficit of the poor Stratification indicators of the poor population (proportion of extremely poor among the poor, inequality index)

9. Sociodemographic groups for which poverty indicators are estimated: By location: Urban cities (above 100,000) towns Rural • employed • children under 18 • persons of retirement age • persons aged 75 and older • men • women Types of households for which poverty indicators are estimated: • households with children • - by number of children • - with children under 3 • - where adults are employed • - with both employed and unemployed adults • households with no children • - where all members are of working age • - where all members are of retirement age • - consist of persons aged 75 and older • - with at least one unemployed

10. Poverty by deprivations:list of attributes Limited economic opportunities (no funds): 1) to buy basic inexpensive foods; 2) to buy, when necessary, new outerwear and footwear for cold seasons, once in 5 years for adults; 3) to buy, when necessary, new clothes and footwear for children; 4) to buy a a TV set; 5) to buy a refrigerator; 6) for major repairs of housing which is damp, slum, or old); 7) for timely and full payment of bills for housing and necessary maintenance services or payment for gas used for cooking; 8) to improve housing (available housing floorspace does not exceed 5 sq. meters per person); 9) to pay for required health services (excluding dentists) in a health care facility (in case of no or difficult access to free services), tests, examinations and procedures prescribed by a doctor; 10) to pay for required drugs and medical supplies prescribed by a doctor;

11. List of attributes (cont.) 11) to pay for in-patient services without surgery (if such services are not provided for free) or vital surgery (excluding cosmetic surgery) and relevant in-patient treatment (if such services are not provided for free); 12) to get any professional education; - limited possibilities related to infrastructural development as a criterion of geographical accessibility of services and non-geographical barriers: 13) lack of retail points of sale in the neighbourhood; 14) lack of personal service providers in a settlement; 15) lack of a health care facility, pharmacies in the neighbourhood; 16) lack of emergency ambulance services in a settlement; 17) lack of child facilities in the neighbourhood; 18) lack of regular daily transport links with another settlement with better infrastructure. Poverty level by deprivations represents a proportion of households in the distribution by the concentration of deprivation attributes; most closely it can be associated with the relative monetary poverty level. The category of the poor includes households that experience 4 or more attributes out of 18 deprivations.

12. Poverty indicators in main population groups, 2007-2012 (based on relative threshold)

13. Poverty indicators by location, 2007–2012 (based on relative threshold)

14. Poverty indicators in main population groups, 2010–2012 (based on absolute threshold)

16. Poverty levels based on different criteria, 2011 Poor based on absolute threshold 0.8% 0.4% 3.4% 3/2% Poor by deprivation 15.9% 6,0% Poor based on relative threshold 11.7% Poverty level based on the relative threshold is shown in yellow (24.3%). Poverty level by deprivation is shown in blue (25.5%). Poverty level based on the absolute threshold is shown in pink (7.8%).

17. Monitoring and performance evaluation of social assistance programmes • Monitoring framework was developed in pursuance of the Government Resolution Concerning monitoring and performance evaluation of social assistance. • Fundamental methodological approaches were developed under the World Bank Project “Social Assistance System Modernization” • The objective is to evaluate impact of social assistance programmes on the wellbeing of specific groups of households and to measure social outcomes • The impact of social assistance programmes on poverty will be assessed through analyzing changes in poverty levels • Two types of monitoring: ongoing (annual) and periodic (in-depth, once in 5 years) Various data sources for monitoring: • Administrative data • Statistical monitoring • Sample household living conditions survey • Public opinion poll on effectiveness of social assistance programmes A new opinion poll on effectiveness of social assistance programmes will be carried out in January 2014. The analysis of the poll results will be issued at the end of 2014.

19. Household debt for housing and utilities services

21. Summary and perspectives • The use of only one poverty measure does not allow adequately evaluating the incidence and dynamics of this multidimensional phenomenon. The most effective way to look into poverty issues is to use a combination of various approaches to poverty measurement. • The EU integration processes in Ukraine increase the need for activities aimed at the harmonization with the approaches used in the EU countries. • Ukraine plans to enlarge the criteria used for poverty measurement based on living conditions (by deprivations), including those related to access to goods and services in health care and education. • An important area in developing poverty statistics is to improve the reliability of poverty criteria through the use of indirect evaluation methods, including for small territories. • In the nearest future Ukraine plans to assess the impact of targeted social assistance system on poverty. • In the context of an increased interest of policy makers, other users and the public to the information on poverty incidence it is important to elaborate a unified approach (threshold) usable for international comparisons.Such threshold may vary for countries with different human development levels (an example is such a threshold as daily consumption below USD 5 per capita). At the same time, for the purposes of social and economic policymaking each country may apply national threshold framework for comprehensive poverty monitoring.